Kimberly Mata-Rubio, whose daughter was killed in the Uvalde school shooting, spoke about her loss Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention.
“Uvalde is national news. Parents everywhere reach for their children. I reach out for the daughter I will never hold again,” she said.
Mata-Rubio told the crowd her 10-year-old daughter Lexi Rubio was awarded for getting all A’s, on the same morning of the shooting. “She wears a St. Mary’s sweatshirt and a smile that lights up the room,” she said. “Thirty minutes later, a gunman murders her 18 classmates and two teachers. We are taken to a room where police tell us she isn’t coming home.”
On May 24, 2022, a gunman entered the school with an AR-15-style rifle and killed 19 children and two teachers.
Since her daughter was killed, Mata-Rubio has advocated for gun control. In 2022 she spoke before the congress asking for a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. She has also advocated to raise the age to purchase weapons from 18 to 21 years of age.
On Wednesday, Mata-rubio appeared with other gun violence survivors and people who lost their loved ones in shootings. The others were Abbey Clements, a teacher who survived the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut; Melody McFadden whose mother was shot and killed; U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA), whose son was shot and killed; and Edgar Vilchez, a gun safety activist from Chicago.
“Our losses do not weaken us,” McBath said. “They strengthen our resolve. We will secure safer futures that we all deserve. We will organize. We will advocate. We will run for office.”
In 2023, Mata-Rubio ran for mayor of Uvalde, however, she lost the election.
Recently, the Uvalde community commemorated the 2 year anniversary of the shooting.
“After two years, my grief is just as deep, the trauma is just as fresh, and my anger remains just as strong as the day my daughter was killed,” Mata-Rubio told the San Antonio Express-News in May. “In her memory, using her outlook on life as inspiration, I work to drive change.”
Families of the victims have since then advocated for accountability of those police officers who failed to protect their children. Currently, two officers face charges of child endangerment and abandonment.
